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Issue 12 • December 2005 Magazine of the Maritime Union of New Zealand ISSN 1176-3418

TheMaritimes

Full Steam Ahead with

UNION POWER

Solidarity with Australian workers

Free Trade and your job • Bird Flu updateAmalgamation • Port Roundups • Southwards Dispute • NewsUnionSave Benefits • Training Courses • Flag of Convenience

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‘The Maritimes’Edition 12, December 2005

ContentsAustralia protest photos ............ 3Trevor Hanson Report ............... 3News ................................... 4Phil Adams Report .................... 5Bird flu update ....................... 6Free trade and your job ............ 8Australia protest report ............. 10Pasifika Fono .......................... 11Training report ....................... 12Vice President’s Report ............. 15Timaru Reunion photos .............. 16Wellington Picnic Day photos ...... 17ITF Report ............................. 16CTU Update ........................... 20FOC Fishing ........................... 20Port Roundups ........................ 22Obituary: Rod Donald ................ 29Letters ................................. 29UnionSave Specials .................. 30The Back Page ........................ 32

‘The Maritimes’ is the official national magazine of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, published quarterly.

ISSN 1176-3418

National Office:PO Box 27004WellingtonNew ZealandTelephone 04 3850 792Fax 04 3848 766Email: trevor.hanson@muno.org.nzWeb: www.munz.org.nz

Edited and designed by Victor BillotEmail: victor.billot@munz.org.nz

Editorial Board: Trevor Hanson, Phil Adams and Joe Fleetwood

Thanks to the photographers including Fred Salelea, Wayne Hanson, Bill Connelly, Joe Fleetwood, Trevor Hanson, Phil Spanswick, Juzzy @ Melbourne Indymedia, iStockPhoto and others. Special thanks to Odette Shaw at the NDU for the Union Save pages.

Front cover photos:(top) Maritime Union members at the Australian Consulate, Wellington, 15 November 2005, supporting Australian workers’ day of action (bottom) Maritime Union Local 13 members at their recent training course

by Trevor Hanson

2005 has been a mixed year for the maritime industry and workers in general.

On the plus side we kept National out of Government, unfortunately our comrades in Australia did not have the same good fortune and now face a major attack from Howard and Co.

This means we still have some good employment laws to build on.

We have continued to see some good settlements for wages around the coun-try, and a generally positive economic situation, although the benefits as usual are going mainly to the already wealthy.

On the downside, we are entering a period of uncertainty. The underlying problems of casualization have not been addressed and we have a substantial number of low income workers and their families struggling with inad-equate wages.

The cost of accommodation in particular is a serious concern as young people cannot afford to sustain enor-mous mortgages.

A house of your own is a right for all working people, but the current system seems to be run for the benefit of inves-tors and speculators.

Sooner or later it will crash, but the people who pay the price will once again be those who can least afford it.

Internationally, the downturn is on its way.

The United States economy is in trouble, as is the Bush Administration.

The threat of bird flu and the enor-mous human and economic cost of the war in Iraq are hitting home.

We have also lost several wellknown leaders, with the death of Bill Andersen and Sonja Davies earlier in the year. More recently the death of Rod Donald has also been a great loss.

Rod DonaldThe untimely death of Green Party

co-leader Rod Donald in November was a sad shock.

Rod had a good understanding of the economic problems faced by workers and was a strong supporter of the Union movement.

His unexpected loss is a blow to us all.

The best way in which we can honour his memory is by continuing his

work in the areas of a just and sustain-able environment and society.

Free TradeThis issue is the number one threat to

our jobs.It is my view that the current free

trade agreements New Zealand is sign-ing up to will lead to an international casualization of labour.

Terry Ryan has also studied the free trade and globalization situation and shares the view that this is a potential minefield we are getting into.

Free trade means less job security and less wages for workers in our indus-try.

I have recently been looking at free trade agreements in conjunction with Peter Conway at the CTU, and we have met with officials from the Government.

We have asked them to provide a clear assurance that the current free trade talks will not mean that transna-tional companies can bring in overseas workers on the minimum wage.

As yet I do not believe we have had a satisfactory answer.

Both of us have serious concerns about the current agreements that New Zealand is signing up to.

The issue of free trade is about far more than selling sheep overseas.

It is of great concern that the Union movement in New Zealand seems to have little to say on the issue.

The Maritime Union will continue to voice our concerns about free trade.

CTU ConferenceThe issue of free trade was on the

agenda at the recent CTU Conference held in Wellington in October.

While at the conference I joined the discussions on manufacturing held by an industry group.

Maxine Gay of the Clothing Workers’ Union explained to us that her Union along with employers had been working on a project to produce linen from flax for the clothing trade.

She explained how both the Union and employers thought they were at least three years ahead of the Chinese in developing this product.

[continued on next page]

A united approach is the only way forward

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Amalgamation back on the agenda

[T. Hanson report continued from previous page]

However, she was recently part of a delegation to China who discovered the Chinese had been producing flax prod-uct for the past three years.

Perhaps this is a warning sign that we should not be relying on free trade.

There is no reason that countries like China cannot successfully build their ag-ricultural industry as well – as I recently found out, they have 130 million merino sheep in China.

We have already seen the destruction of much of our manufacturing industry, and we need to be looking at a different economic system that promotes high quality local production.

Social equality and stability are more important than cheap imported goods – something that Rod Donald understood.

Fishing Industry The Maritime Union have recently

been supporting the ITF locally in their defence of fishermen.

ITF co-ordinator Kathy Whelan and volunteer ITF inspector Bill Lewis took action after problems on the ‘Sky 75’ in September in the Port of Nelson.

Our involvement led to the ITF and MUNZ meeting with immigration, cus-toms, and border security officials.

Although the meeting did not re-solve all the issues it was constructive.

If any members have knowledge of fishing crews being badly treated, or enticed off the ship to work onshore, contact Kathy Whelan or one of our of-ficials immediately.

The other area that we must look out for is overseas ships’ crew working cargo on the wharf, the practice known as self-loading.

We have since the last incident in Wellington earlier this year had another case involving the same company.

If self-loading gets established, our jobs will be gone – it is that simple.

Happy ChristmasThe Maritime Union wishes you

and your family a happy Christmas and New Year – take care on the roads and at work.

Amalgamation is back on the agenda after a decision by the Maritime Union’s executive to resume talks.

Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Paddy Crumlin has agreed to take part in the talks between MUNZ and the Rail and Maritime Union (RMTU).

At the Maritime Union national executive meeting held in Wellington on 15–16 November 2005, the following resolution was passed:

”That the undertaking given to this National Executive of MUNZ by Paddy Crumlin to actively participate in any future amalgamation talks, on the basis of a future structure being based on this organization’s agenda and requirements.

“And further given that this execu-tive has accepted the RMTU’s invitation to attend their All Ports Conference.

“Then this National Executive in-structs the officers to advise this RMTU Conference that MUNZ will return to the negotiation table on the above basis to develop a new model, one acceptable to MUNZ.

“Further that we will not oppose the presence of the ACTU’s Paul Goulter as facilitator, provided it is jointly in as-sociation with Paddy Crumlin.”

(Moved Denis Carlisle, seconded Kevin Forde)

MUNZ National Executive meetsThe National Executive of the Maritime Union met on 15–16 November 2005 at Waterside House in Wellington.

The meeting was attended by repre-sentatives from all branches and locals of the Maritime Union, the national of-ficials of the Union, the ITF co-ordinator, and a delegation from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

The MUA delegation comprised National Secretary Paddy Crumlin, Assistant Secretary Rick Newlyn and Industrial Officer Joanne White.

The meeting paid its respects on several recent deaths of members and friends of the Union since the last execu-tive meeting, including Bill Bodenham and John Brennan of the MUA, NDU President Bill Andersen, former Prime Minister David Lange, Green Party co-leader Rod Donald, and MUNZ mem-bers Garth Love (Port Chalmers) and Keith Miller (Auckland).

A resolution was passed by the meet-ing in memory of Bill Bodenham, his contribution to the working class, lead-ership of the MUA Veterans Association, and his tireless work for those in trouble being specifically mentioned.

Paddy Crumlin spoke to the meet-ing on a wide range of issues, including the attack by the Howard Government on Australian workers, and the need for unity at this time.

The meeting adjourned so delegates could attend the protest supporting Australian workers at the Australian Consulate.

Other issues mentioned by Paddy included the importance of international solidarity developed through groupings such as the Tasman Maritime Federation and the Asia-Pacific Mining and Mari-time group.

The executive passed a resolution that the Maritime Union would ap-proach key unions to obtain their drug and alcohol policies in order to use these to formulate a draft national policy.

The Finance Committee Report was received and adopted by the meeting, and branch reports were also received.

A number of life memberships of the Maritime Union of New Zealand were proposed and accepted by the meeting.

These include Frankie St Bruno (Auckland Local 13), and Bob Staines (Napier).

Communications Officer Victor Billot circulated a paper on free trade, and a resolution was passed that the Union work to bring the issues and facts of the WTO and GATS to the public arena.

‘The Maritimes’ is the official magazine of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

All correspondence to: ‘The Maritimes’, PO Box 27004, Wellington, New Zealand.

Email victor.billot@munz.org.nz

Deadline for all Port reports, submissions, photos and letters: 12 February 2006 for next edition

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Keep an eye on stress over summer period

by Phil Adams

Another year is drawing to a close and we look forward to Christmas and the New Year period.

This is a good time but we should be aware that it can also be a stressful time for families, as money and time pres-sures are a sad reality in today’s world.

If you are having problems then you can always talk to your union organizer and delegate, who will often be able to point you in the right direction for help and support.

Remember the idea is to relax and have fun – don’t overdo it and end up with a hangover, financial or otherwise.

General electionThe result of the General Election

was better than it could have been. We achieved the return of a Labour-

led Government, which was the key goal, but the deals cut with Peters and Dunne have not been a good start.

There has been criticism against the Labour-led Government for the treat-ment handed out to the Green Party, whom the Maritime Union was hoping would have a substantial role in the new Government.

The contribution of the Union movement was central to the return of a Labour-led Government, and we will be reminding them of their obligations to those who supported them.

Despite criticism of the electoral system, MMP has proved to give results which reflect the views of the electorate better than the previous system.

Many of the younger members of our Union may not recall the 1991 attack of the newly elected National Govern-ment in the form of the Employment Contracts Act, which had a terrible effect on the maritime industry.

Some of the problems that arose in that time include casualization and the collapse of companies.

The ‘open coast’ policy led to the undermining of New Zealand shipping, through the international shipping com-panies using poorly-paid and treated overseas crews on flag of convenience vessels.

The success in the return of a Labour-led Government is the fact we will maintain the current industrial legisla-tion, rather than seeing a return to the Employment Contracts Act era.

We can build on the improved health and safety laws, and work towards im-proved conditions from casual workers and an increase in the minimum wage to at least $12 an hour.

There are serious problems that we still face on the political front such as free trade which could undermine prog-ress in other areas.

CompetitionAs a Union we have to recognize the

importance of protecting one another across the board – and in particular ensuring that we are not sucked into competing with one another both at the Port level or Port against Port.

When wages and conditions become the bargaining chips to “compete” with, it is always the workers who pay.

The worst employers set the stan-dard and things continue in the down-ward spiral – something we have seen far too much of in our industry over the last two decades.

The argument of the Government is that we must develop a skilled worker base that can operate in technologically advanced areas.

However it is hard to see how this is going to happen with events such as the recent announcement of hundreds of layoffs at Air New Zealand.

The maintainence work these skilled workers have been doing is being out-sourced to overseas companies in order to save money, despite Air New Zealand making big profits.

What may be good for a business in the short term is not necessarily good for their workers or the wider society they operate in.

The fact that Air New Zealand has a majority ownership by the Government is a further disgrace.

Drug and alcohol policyThis issue is an ongoing one that will

not go away. The important thing here is health

and safety on the job. If you have a problem, don’t wait

until you are involved in an accident or incident at work.

Talk to the Union before it gets to that stage. We can offer you support and protect your job.

Remember we all have to look out for one another.

Crew jump from ‘San Liberatore’The shipjumping of eight Indonesians in Wellington from the fishing vessel ‘San Liberatore’ on Tuesday 22 Novem-ber was entirely predictable as the ship had a history of crew problems.

Immigration officials say the crew were in New Zealand on short term permits to join the vessel which was berthed in Wellington for a crew change and refuelling.

The Maritime Union has had to intervene on two occasions this year when overseas crew members on the ‘San Liberatore’ were being made to do self-loading – waterfront work normally done by New Zealand workers.

Maritime Union General Secre-tary Trevor Hanson says Government reports have noted there is abuse going on aboard these fishing vessels in New Zealand waters.

He says it is time the spotlight went on the companies operating these ves-sels, rather than the workers.

Mr Hanson says that sooner or later the lid is going to be lifted on the prac-tices going on in the industry.

Report puts spotlight on FOC fishing

The Australian Government together with environmental organization WWF International and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) released a report in November 2005 that clearly identifies the environmental damage and exploitation of workers going on aboard “flag of convenience” fishing vessels.

The Australian Government has also just announced a $220 million package to buy back fishing licences and restruc-ture the industry to make it sustainable.

Under proposed free trade agree-ments New Zealand is negotiating, the maritime industry may be flung open allowing the worst operators even greater access, with no ability to restrict their activities or stop the exploitation of cheap Third World labour.

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Bird Flu and what you can do

The Maritime Union has asked mari-time employers to take steps to protect workers from bird flu.

According to the World Health Orga-nization, the risk of a bird flu pandemic is high (a pandemic is when an infec-tious disease is spread over a wide area and large number of people.)

Bird flu is causing major concern throughout the world.

The New Zealand Government – as well as overseas Governments – are planning for the shutdown of ports and airports in case of a pandemic situation.

Information has been provided to employers, but there are many unknown factors, as the bird flu virus may change through mutation.

The Maritime Union held a confer-ence call in November to discuss the issue with all branches throughout New Zealand.

The Union have put forward the following set of practices for use in the event of a breakout of human–human transmitted bird flu.

5 Rules1. Any vessel we are requested to work on must have all crew physically exam-ined and certified evidence presented to a official or a person nominated by our Union prior to any member working on the vessel.

2. Any Union member who chooses not to work on any vessel whilst a pandemic situation is official will not be penalized for such absence.

3. Any labour that is requested for such work must be cleared via a Union offi-cial or a person nominated by the Union for this purpose.

4. All working Union members must be supplied with antiviral medication, and all protective clothing and masks neces-sary prior to commencement of work on any vessel.

5. Any member who is unable to work because of Government or official regulations will not have his/her pay deducted.

These points apply to both water-front and seafarer members.

In the event of a bird flu pandemic, the Maritime Union will give informa-tion to members and ensure that no worker is unwittingly put into a high risk situation.

The Union asks that all members remain vigilant and keep themselves informed.

How can you prepare for an influenza pandemic?• Talk to your family and friends about health hygiene – hand washing, and safe coughing and sneezing.

• Make sure you have an emergency survival kit. Plan for having about a week’s worth of essential supplies such as non-perishable food, as well as plenty of fluids. For further information see the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emer-gency Management website on What to Do in a disaster.http://www.civildefence.govt.nz

• Include paracetamol (for fever) in your home emergency survival kit.

• Have a plan for what you and your family would do if you had to stay at home during a pandemic.

How do you care for yourself and your family during an influenza pandemic?• Stay home if you are sick and keep away from other people – avoid visitors and visiting other people.

• Wash and dry your hands after you cough, sneeze, wipe or blow your nose (or your child’s nose), use the bathroom or toilet. Wash and dry your hands be-fore you prepare food and eat, and when you are looking after sick people.

• Keep coughs and sneezes covered. Tis-sues are best. Put the tissue in a rubbish bin.

• Give people who have a fever and/or diarrhoea plenty to drink.

• Give paracetamol for fever. Do not give aspirin to children under 12.

• Try to keep well people and sick people apart.

• Sharing bedding, clothing and utensils may spread infection, but you do not need to wash a sick person’s bedding, clothing and utensils separately from the rest of the family’s.

For more information and the latest updates, the Ministry of Health have a pandemic influenza website at http://www.moh.govt.nz/pandemicinfluenza

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What is influenza? Influenza (the flu) is a very infectious illness caused by a virus. It is much more serious than a common cold and can leave you ill for up to 10 days. Symptoms of the flu include: a high fever, headache, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, cough, sore throat, or a runny nose. It may take up to three days to feel symptoms after you catch the flu (the incubation period). Anyone can get the flu – being fit, active and healthy does not protect you from getting this virus. Anyone can die from the flu – it kills at least 100 New Zealanders every year, including some young, fit people. What can you do to prevent getting the flu? Every year, ask your doctor to vaccinate you against the flu. Because the influenza virus changes frequently, you need to get vaccinated every year to stay immune.Some people can get this free. Vaccina-tion is free for people aged 65 years and over, and adults and children with certain long-term (chronic) conditions. Your GP will know if you are eligible for a free vaccination. The flu is very easily spread through coughs and sneezes. If you have the flu, avoid public places and close contact with other people. Always cough and sneeze into a dispos-able tissue. Put the tissue in a rubbish bin and wash your hands well after-wards.

What is avian influenza (bird flu)? There are many types of influenza virus, some of which infect birds. These are avian influenza viruses.Very rarely, an avian influenza virus can also infect people. The current avian influenza virus – H5N1 – has infected some people who have caught it from having close contact with infected birds. Avian influenza causes severe flu-like symptoms in people and may result in death. It has not been shown for sure that anyone has caught avian influenza from another person. There are currently no commercially available vaccines that will protect people against the H5N1 avian influenza.

Influenza – the factsWhat are the symptoms of avian influ-enza? Generally, the symptoms are similar to those for people infected with the flu, although the severity of the illness may differ. Symptoms generally appear three to seven days after exposure and can last up to seven days.

Why are health authorities concerned about avian influenza? The World Health Organization is wor-ried that an avian influenza virus and a human influenza virus might mix. This could result in a new strain of influenza virus that can be easily passed from person to person. The new influenza virus could spread rapidly around the world, infecting many people. This would be an influ-enza pandemic. An influenza pandemic could cause many deaths and could occur at any time. It would not necessarily be a win-ter illness.

How likely is an influenza pandemic? It is certain an influenza pandemic will happen one day. The H5N1 avian influenza virus that is found in some countries could become a pandemic influenza virus at any time.

What is New Zealand doing to prepare for an influenza pandemic? New Zealand has been planning for this for some time. The Ministry of Health has a national pandemic plan, and District Health Boards have local plans.The New Zealand Government, fol-lowing the advice of the World Health Organization, is stockpiling anti-viral medicine to help reduce the impact of a pandemic on New Zealanders. By the end of 2005 there will be enough anti-viral medicine for about 21 percent of the population.

Is there a vaccine available for a flu pandemic? The Ministry of Health has a formal arrangement with Australia’s CSL Ltd - the only influenza vaccine manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere - which gives us a guaranteed supply if we need a pandemic vaccine. However, manufac-ture of such a vaccine can only start once we know the strain of the virus causing the pandemic, and so a vaccine is not currently available.

What could happen in an influenza pandemic? A pandemic could mean so many people are sick that it will affect workplaces, schools, hospitals and many other ser-vices. There would be public announce-ments on TV, the radio and through other media channels that there is an influenza pandemic.Some workplaces and schools may close. Normal health and other services may not be available for several weeks. You may be asked to care for yourself and others at home.

The above information is reproduced from the Ministry of Health influenza factsheet (updated 3 November 2005). For more information and the latest updates, the Ministry of Health have a pandemic influenza website athttp://www.moh.govt.nz/pandemicinfluenza

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by Victor Billot

New Zealand is negotiating free trade agreements through the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as with individual countries.

Free trade agreements have the po-tential to open New Zealand maritime industry to low-wage casual overseas workers being imported for short term periods into New Zealand ports.

This is already happening in many overseas countries – and once the free trade agreements are signed, they are very difficult to get out of.

The “Flag of Convenience” system has led to bad wages and conditions in international shipping, and the collapse of national merchant fleets.

Could this system come ashore with the free trade agreements?

Flag of Convenience comes ashoreMany countries are promoting the

movement of their labour force in-ternationally as a way to make more money (not necessarily for the workers involved).

So in addition to manufacturing moving to China, and services such as call centres and computer programming relocating to India, countries such as Indonesia, Philippines and even Pacific island states are pushing for the “ex-port” of their labour to other countries.

The “Ports of Convenience” in Europe is an early battle in this war

– within Europe, dockers are facing at-tacks from employers seeking to reduce labour costs by moving workers be-tween countries to push wages down.

Even in the Third World, dockers in countries like Malaysia have lost their jobs because workers imported from neighbouring Indonesia are cheaper.In a global capitalist economy, the search is on for the cheapest labour, the worst conditions, and the lowest level of democratic rights, in order to ensure the one thing that is more important than anything else: corporate profit.

What is the WTO and GATS?New Zealand is one of the countries

involved in the current “Doha Round” of GATS (General Agreement on trade and services) taking place through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

These negotiations are based around the concept of turning the world into one big “free market” – it is Rogernom-ics and Ruthenasia on the international scale.

Most people have no idea about what the negotiations mean and their potential effect on New Zealand.

The negotiations take place behind closed doors, the public is kept in the dark.

Once New Zealand has agreed and signed up to these agreements, we are effectively being economically integrat-ed with countries such as China.

It will probably be impossible to back out without having major penalties imposed on us by other WTO nations.

The process “locks in” changes – such as those Rogernomics brought to the New Zealand economy.

New Zealand has been one of the most active advocates for free trade in the WTO due to the idea that we will benefit from open access to overseas markets with our agricultural products.

In exchange, New Zealand has to offer something else for other countries to benefit from.

Under the WTO, this type of thing is dealt with under an international agreement called the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) using the technical term “Mode 4”.

”Mode 4” refers to “natural persons” (human beings) “supplying services” (doing work) in countries which are not their own.

Hidden behind the complicated jargon is the reality that these free trade agreements could change the way we work in major and unexpected ways.

Yet the public of New Zealand are told little about what free trade agree-ments could do, except allowing us to sell some more farm products.

What does free trade mean for your job?

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“Asian tigers” in Auckland port alert Two separate finds of mosquitoes in imported goods sparked biosecurity alerts at the Port of Auckland and Auckland Airport in November.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry quarantine staff found live asian tiger mosquitoes on an imported rubbish truck offloaded from a ship from Japan at the Port of Auckland.

The adult mosquito, five pupae and 32 larvae were found in water in a drain in the truck. The truck was treated im-mediately.

The asian tiger mosquito is known to be able to spread a number of diseases including Dengue fever, Ross River virus, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus.

Health protection staff will moni-tor traps in the area for a further three weeks to ensure the mosquitoes have not escaped into the local environment.

A mosquito detected by quarantine staff at Auckland Airport in foodstuffs imported by plane from Fiji was a vari-ety already found in New Zealand.

Exotic mosquitoes of public health significance have been intercepted on 42 occasions since January 1998.

National OfficeTelephone: 04 3850 792Fax: 04 3848 766Address: PO Box 27004, WellingtonOffice administrator: Valentina GorayEmail: val.goray@muno.org.nz

General Secretary: Trevor HansonDirect dial: 04 801 7614Mobile: 021 390585Email: trevor.hanson@muno.org.nz

National President: Phil AdamsDirect dial: 03 4728 052Mobile: 0274 377601Email: phil.adams@munz.org.nz

Contact the Maritime UnionNational Vice President: Joe FleetwoodMobile: 021 364649Email: joe.fleetwood@muno.org.nz

Assistant General Secretary: Terry RyanMobile: 021 1866643Email: terry@munz.org.nz

ITF Inspectorate: Kathy WhelanDirect dial: 04 801 7613Mobile: 021 666405Email: kathy.whelan@muno.org.nz

Communications Officer: Victor BillotMobile: 021 482219Email: victor.billot@munz.org.nz

The current situation in New Zealand

There are no current plans to open up the waterfront in New Zealand with regard to Maritime cargo handling – as New Zealand’s Mode 4 commitments don’t apply directly to most waterside work.

But New Zealand has made com-mitments under the WTO in “Maritime Auxiliary Services: Storage and Ware-housing Service; and Maritime Freight Forwarding Services” (defined as “the activity consisting of organising and monitoring shipment operations on be-half of shippers, through the acquisition of transport and related services, prepa-ration of documentation and provision of business information”).

Some of those may affect maritime workers – directly or indirectly.

The danger is that free trade agree-ments could be extended to cargo handling and Mode 4 commitments are extended to cover core waterfront work.

There is also the definition of terms like “Specialist personnel” used in the New Zealand GATS commitments.

This could conceivably be applied to people such as crane drivers, even if relatively unskilled people are not al-lowed to work in this way.

Another area of concern is where the Government could make additional commitments in cargo handling.

There is considerable pressure to extend commitments at the WTO at the moment.

While there are already foreign-owned stevedoring companies active in New Zealand, changes could provide a ready base for the use of overseas labour.

The Maritime Union and the CTU have met with officials from the Minis-try of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), who are responsible for negotiating free trade agreements.

There has been no clear answer to our questions on this subject, and it is apparent that even amongst the “ex-perts” here and overseas, there is no clear picture of how “Mode 4” will work in practice as it rolls out.

The Council of Trade Unions made this point in its submission in 2004 to the Government:

”It is difficult to assess the long-term impact of how Mode 4 trade could oper-ate.

For instance, could a Chinese com-pany establish a subsidiary in New Zea-land supplying maritime services and use labour from China (“movement of natural persons”) to perform the work?

The Government needs to explain what specifically will be permitted under any proposed Mode 4 liberalisa-tion.”[ from submission on NZ-China Free Trade Agreement, Parliamentary Submissions, 2 September 2004, CTU Submission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]

Domestic regulation under GATSAnother area of concern is in the

GATS rules themselves in its articles on “Domestic Regulation.”

These are currently being renegoti-ated.

Whether a change will be agreed is not yet clear, but it is the most likely area for changes to the GATS rules if there are any.

The danger is that it will make any technical standards (such as health and safety rules) challengeable as a“barrier to trade.”

One likely approach is that they would be compared to some interna-tional standard, and if New Zealand rules are stricter than that they would be regarded as a“barrier” unless we could prove otherwise.

So that would make for difficul-ties in negotiating better standards for members, and getting them into local or national regulations and laws.

The Maritime Union is continuing to ask hard questions to the Government about what effects free trade agreements will have on our jobs on the waterfront and in the maritime industry.

Thanks to Bill Rosenberg for comments on some of this article – any errors are those of the author.For further info: ARENA website: http://www.arena.org.nz/gatsoff2.htm

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Australian transport workers joined over half a million of their compatriots in a rally this week against new anti-union laws introduced by the Liberal government of Prime Minister John Howard.

The 15 November rallies – linked by a satellite TV hook-up at over 300 venues across the country – were hailed a success by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), as over 200,000 marched in Melbourne, and in excess of 150,000 across New South Wales.

ITF affiliates across the globe sup-ported the Australian workers by sending messages voicing concern about the changes to Australian diplomatic missions.

These included a solidarity pledge from British union the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

“We are really buoyed by the solidar-ity shown by all our affiliates,” com-mented ITF National Co-ordinator for Australia, Dean Summers.

The laws, dubbed as “WorkChoices” by the conservative government, over-throw a century old system founded on principles of fairness and equity, replac-ing it with an approach based on market forces and individual contracts.

The laws are proving very unpopu-lar; opinion polls show as many as 80

Transport workers join Aussie protests

per cent of Australians oppose the changes.

Working people are actively cam-paigning against the laws through grass-roots committees and organisations, backed by national TV advertisements.

“We have a total commitment to challenging these laws at every opportu-nity,” said Summers.

ITF General Secretary David Cock-roft condemned the repressive laws in a message delivered to the Australian High Commissioner in London, UK, and called on affiliates to show solidarity.(Article courtesy of the ITF)

More news on the campaign at these websites:http://www.rightsatwork.com.auhttp://mua.org.au/news/

Aratere steering failure cleared by investigatorsAn investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) has found the same electronic failure caused two steering malfunc-tions within 11 days on the inter-island ferry the ‘Aratere’.

The Aratere’s port rudder failed as it entered Wellington at about 6pm on 9 February with about 185 people on board.

The master took the ‘Aratere’ out of the main shipping lane after the helms-man warned he was having trouble keeping the ship on course.

He did a “controlled” 360 degree turn using the remaining working rud-der before returning to the planned track across Wellington harbour and berthing without incident.

The same rudder failed again 11 days later when leaving Picton on an early morning sailing on 20 February.

The master anchored the ship in Queen Charlotte Sound while electri-cians tried to fix the problem.

The TAIC report says the ship was able to operate safely on its other rud-der.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission says the ship was not in danger and is satisfied the ferry operator Toll Shipping has fixed the problem.

Actions implemented by operators Toll include replacing suspect circuits which may have led to problems with power supply.Full report at http://www.taic.org.nz/

Some of the more than 200 000 workers in the streets of Melbourne Photo courtesy of Juzzy via Melbourne Indymedia http://melbourne.indymedia.org

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What is the Komiti Pasefika?The Komiti Pasefika is the CTU Pacific workers’ network, which aims to edu-cate current and potential Pacific Island union activists.

Komiti Pasefika encourages the involvement of Pacific Island peoples through networking, offering support, providing education and advice and seeking recognition from relevant bodies in order to participate and influence in decision and policy making to meet the demands of PI peoples.

By Simon Riggs

After attending the Pasefika Fono in Wellington I was impressed by the various delegates present.

Guest speakers on the first day were Associate Minister of Pacific Island Af-fairs Hon. Philip Taito and CTU Presi-dent Ross Wilson.

Following on day two was CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont, MP for Maungakiekie Mark Gosche, and MP for Mana Luamanavao Winnie Laban.

Some of the comments passed on by speakers were:

In the NCEA, the level of Pacific Islanders gaining passes had risen even though from 1999-2005, PI students were below average.

Leadership was really important, from the home to the workplace and to the community.

There are 35 Unions affiliated to the CTU, boasting 300,000 members, and the CTU is the largest health and safety organisation in New Zealand.

Leadership in training must be continued, as on the job fatalities had dropped over a two year period, and an excellent job was being done.

We learned about the idea of creat-ing well paid jobs for all and gained an understanding of the Employment Rela-tions Act (not Employment Contracts Act).

Unions have been barred from attending meetings at the workplace where there has been no Collective Agreements and where workers had no rights to challenge a dismissal.

If elected National would implement a “3 months rule” which would cripple unions, as workers would have no per-sonal grievance claims and no rights to challenge dismissal.

There is a need for PI’s to “step up to the mark” not only in the workplace but in the community also.

In the workplace PI’s are generally quiet when things are being discussed at meetings; when they are in a group after the meeting, you can bet what they’re talking about.

The situation here is that “this group” has a lot to say outside meetings mainly because there is no leader and perhaps they have low self esteem and lack of confidence in speaking out.

The message here is, “argue for your existence” – it could be your turn next!

Speak to your delegate, that person will listen to your words and try to put forward an easy explanation in return.

Unionism in the PacificThere was a brief report from dele-

gates of SPOCTU (South Pacific Oceanic Council of Trade Unions) and affiliate of the international trade union group ICFTU which has 145 million members internationally.

At its most recent meeting, there was talk on issues confronting unions.

These included capacity building, recruitment, collective bargaining, union mergers, Free Trade agreements, Union-ism in the Private Sector, AIDS and other general issues.

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea is one of the

poorest nations in the Pacific, only the Solomon Islands are poorer and there is no Unionism.

FijiA Tolerance Bill is being sought in

Fiji, plus an Amnesty Bill which would seek to have prisoners freed from prison who took part in the coup under George Speight.

TongaThere is Unionism in the “Friendly

Islands”, with the PSA seeking a pay rise and recently going on strike.

SamoaWages have increased 42% here and

workers are now striving for better working conditions.

We can see that Unionism is alive in the Pacific, and not only in developed countries.

Workers are “learning the game” and “stepping up to the mark” challenging for the right of a fair and just society, and a democratic environment, where

they can voice their opinions without the door being slammed in their face.

There are a lot of things that can be said about Unions and Leaders, such as:

Have we got the right person leading us?

Are we as workers acting in accor-dance with Union policies?

Are we being fair to employers and are they been fair and respectful to our requests?

In essence the basis of this Fono was to further enlighten PI delegates and Union members, and for the workers to be aware of their rights and how to ap-proach separate issues faced in everyday existence in the workplace.

The need for our people to under-stand Unionism and to encourage others to become part of the Union.

I am quite sure the next Pasefika Fono will see an increase in numbers attending.

We need to bring the role of PI’s in Union roles to the forefront, and the passing on of knowledge taken from this meeting will give more experience to fellow workers, giving confidence that they can survive in a fair and just work place.

We must be passionate in our belief about Unionism and Solidarity.

I leave you with this, which I think describes Unionism, the name of the group and their hit single “THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN – UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.”

Last but not least, I would like to thank MUNZ National Educator, Fred Salelea, Auckland Branch Local 13 for helping with the opportunity to apply to attend the Fono.

Note from MUNZ Trainer Fred Salelea

On July 28 I attended the Biennial Komiti Pasefika Fono in Wellington along with Simon Riggs, one of our casuals and member of our Union for some 15 years, from Asco at general wharves.

Simon was selected from a number of our members who expressed interest in representing Local 13 at the Bien-nial Komiti Pasefika Fono, along with myself.

This was a two day conference, and was the first time the Maritime Union has been represented at this event, which is attended by all affiliated Unions to the CTU.

Pasefika Fono Report

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Maritime Training with Fred Salelea

By Fred Salelea Executive Local 13, Maritime Union National Educator

With the year drawing to an end and Christmas looming I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Also I wish to thank all of our branches who participated in our educa-tion programme to those members who took an interest in attending and partici-pating with the MUNZ training.

Special thanks to all the branch offi-cials who helped organise and make this a successful year – your interest, sup-port and presence at the courses gives inspiration and encouragement to our next generation that are coming through the ranks the confidence to represent our members in our Union.

Since our last edition, we’ve had a General Election which has seen the Government hold power by a slim mar-gin with an enormous effort by party faithful and the little old worker you and me.

Congratulations to all for the effort, helping to re-elect a Labour led govern-ment back into power.

We can now breathe a sigh of relief until next time.

Education programmeOur Education programme has now

visited our Tauranga branch where we had a warm welcome from Branch Presi-dent Terrence Tai, Branch Secretary Phil Spanswick and their members.

Great turn out for this course and plenty of interest from the rank and file.

Special thanks for all the hard work that Phil has put into our education programme this past year.

Auckland branch has now run its third course for the year, having to run an extra course to fulfil the quota of courses for our education programme and our obligation under ERE funding.

This stretched their ERE leave en-titlements to the limit.

I would like to thank our Auckland Branch for their effort they’ve put into our Education Programme this year and look forward to the follow up courses next year around March.

Dates for these courses will be posted in December.

Bill Connelly and Napier branch members attended their first MUNZ del-egate training course where they turned in some fine weather and a hearty lunch for this inaugural course.

My compliments to our Napier members and I look forward to return-ing soon.

What we have learnt from our education programme going around the country is the eagerness from our young members to gain knowledge of our union, its history, structure and where we have come from.

What it means to belong to an insti-tution that has been around for over a hundred years, what it means to have a job that conditions were fought for by those who were here before us, and remembering that we don’t own these jobs, we are just the caretakers for those who follow.

How we represent comes from the knowledge and skill we gain from our courses and mentors within our Union.

Take what you have learnt and use this wisely to maintain what you rightly deserve: a good and fair wage and healthy and safe work conditions.

Upcoming coursesUpcoming courses left for 2005 are

“The Waterfront Industry and its Future Economic Development” course in Wel-lington (date to be confirmed.)

From our Women’s programme “Involving Women in the Waterfront Industry” is being held from 15–16 November in Wellington at the Willis St RSA and 21–22 November at the Wil-lowhaven Holiday Camp in Ngongot-aha (Rotorua.)

These are two day seminars where the aim is to evaluate the role of women workers in the Waterfront Industry, with a view to broaden their involvement within the industry.

”Involving Women in the Waterfront Industry” is intended to provide women with support and a sense of sisterhood within the union.

Initiatives like this one are aimed at reducing feelings of isolation and alien-ation, and set about strengthening our women activists.

We have had an overwhelming re-sponse from members around the coun-try expressing their interest in attending this inaugural seminar for women in our Industry.

Women in the waterfront industry make up more than 8.2% of our mem-bership and growing.

They cover every area of our in-dustry from administration to machine operators, crane drivers, stewards and cooks.

Maritime Union members at the recent “Women in the Waterfront Industry” course held in Wellington (including our youngest “member” Preacher!)

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To date Health and Safety legislation and systems have dramatically reduced workplace fatalities by 60% over the past two years.

Since the Worksafe Reps courses have been running we have now trained over 13,000 health and safety reps in a range of industries, trained under the CTU Health and Safety Representative scheme.

Stage 1 of the Health and Safety Rep Courses aim was to empower and give Health and Safety Reps the skills and knowledge to perform their role in the workplace.

Stage 2 of the Health and Safety Rep Courses was to build on from Stage 1 and its main focus was on Incident and Accidents Investigation.

We can expect to see Stage 3 pilots running early next year, and we look forward to seeing our members attend-ing these upcoming courses.www.worksafereps.org.nz

Health and Safety Update

Learning Representatives

Union Health and Safety trainers with MP Sue MoroneyFront row from left: Thomas Webster, Fred Salelea, Sue Moroney MP, Gabriel Brett Kelly, Ian Paterson, Jen Breed Middle row from left: Chris McDonald, Karen Fletcher, Sheryll Freeman, Ann Horner, Kyra Roberts, Jeena Murphy, Hazel Armstrong (Training Advisor), Stephany Mitchell, Rosie Clulow Back row from left: Monica O’Connell (Health and Safety team manager), Megan Morris, David Tolich, Lynn Young, Jo Duffy, Steve Reid, Wendy Pearson

The CTU Learning Representatives Programme was launched in Parlia-ment by Minister of Education Trevor Mallard on 9 August 2005.

This programme will now be piloted in a number of industries and work-places.

The programme is not unlike the Health and Safety Representatives programme, as both roles have a focus on worker participation, empowerment and development.

Learning Reps are trained to assist co-workers in acquiring qualifications and skills in building a career.

They can act as a guide, as learning support, and a friendly advisor. They can help with literacy issues and assist second chance education.

Their efforts are all about the skills and education that workers need to progress at work and to receive the rec-ognition they deserve.Just as Health and Safety Reps are often part of the Com-pany Safety Management committees, Learning Reps can work with Human Resources and training staff to develop and monitor a company training plan that really meets the learning needs of staff.

Stress ManagementHere is an outlook on how to man-

age stress.A lecturer, when explaining stress

management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, “The abso-lute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.”

”If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.”

”In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress management.

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

Involving Women in the Waterfront Industry This course was held in Wellington on 15–16 November and it was fitting that this first MUNZ women’s seminar coincided with our National Executive meeting held at the same time.

Our women members were greeted by our entire executive when they joined in solidarity to support our Australian brothers in protest of the Howard Gov-ernment and its law changes outside the Australian Consulate in Wellington.

Maritime Union of Australia Nation-al Secretary Paddy Crumlin addressed our members later that afternoon in a special forum where our women’s course representative Polly Clayton asked prepared questions about issues facing women in our industry.

MUA National Assistant Secretary Rick Newlyn and National Industrial Officer Joanne White addressed our women members on day two about global solidarity and spoke about the International Pacific Rim Mining and Maritime Unions seminar held in Los Angeles.

Special guest speaker Maxine Gay (Secretary of the Clothing and Laundry Workers Union CLAW) spoke about women in unions and her close af-filiation to the waterfront industry and seafaring family history.

Co-facilitators Rachael Goddard from Wellington Seafarers Branch and Janita Barton from Auckland Branch Local 13 have been instrumental in developing and making our women’s programme a real success along with the support of our education steering committee.

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the bur-den. So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomor-row. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. “

“Relax; pick them up later after you’ve rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!”

In Solidarity – Merry Christmas and have a safe and happy New Year.

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by Joe Fleetwood National Vice President

At the recent Mining and Maritime Conference in Australia, Maritime Union of New Zealand Assistant Gen-eral Secretary Terry Ryan and I were briefed about the major new develop-ment of a multi-billion dollar gas pipe-line from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to Australia.

Maritime Union of Australia Assis-tant National Secretary Mick Doleman outlined the project which may involve substantial job opportunities including New Zealand maritime workers.

The pipeline will cost $5 billion to construct and will run for over 3000km from the interior of Papua New Guinea to customers in Australia – making it the longest pipeline in the Southern Hemi-sphere.

Agreement has been reached with joint venture partners including Exxon Mobil, Oil Search and AGL (a customer who has taken 10% equity in the ven-ture).

The gas will be sold to power users like Comalco down the Eastern seaboard of Australia.

The project will pipeline the gas from the Kutuba field to Kopi along the route of the current oil pipeline down to the Gulf of Papua, and then approximately 160 km of undersea pipe across Torres Strait to Australia, and down the Eastern seaboard to at least Gladstone.

The final route and destination in Australia has not been confirmed and is subject to demand by customers.

The first gas is expected around 2008.This enormous infrastructure project

has the potential to provide great em-ployment and skills training for PNG workers both onshore in PNG and at sea during the pipelay operations.

At the time of writing, the PNG unions have had no formal industry briefing nor have any Australian unions.

There is also strong talk of the supply of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) gas from PNG by ship to New Zealand as the New Zealand gas fields reserves decline, thus opening job opportunities for PNG and or New Zealand seafarers.

The Trans Tasman Federation is proving its worth as we may see joint crews of New Zealand, Australian and Papua New Guinea seafarers.

The Mining and Maritime coalition have suggested a meeting in Cairns, Queensland, take place early in 2006.

The location will assist a larger del-egation from PNG being able to attend and the two national bodies would work together.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand will be involved at a national level with discussions on the benefits and employ-ment opportunities for New Zealand maritime workers.

Papua gas line may benefit NZ workers

Stevedore sentencing holds message for workersA stevedore was convicted and fined in August 2005 for injuring two co-work-ers on the job.

The accident happened on 11 January 2004 when the driver of a truck tow-ing a very wide trailer was accelerating up a narrow ramp on the cargo vessel ‘Fujimarine’, which was berthed on the Auckland waterfront.

The truck collided with the side of the ramp which caused the rear of the trailer to spin and strike two stevedores who were walking down the ramp.

One of the stevedores, a 22-year-old, was pinned against the safety railing and suffered serious injuries including a compound fracture of his thighbone and a fractured pelvis.

The driver of the truck was convicted under the Health and Safety in Employ-ment Act and ordered to pay $3,000 reparation to the injured stevedore for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of others.

Maritime New Zealand found that given that the ramp was narrow, the trailer was wide, and the driver was aware there were pedestrians on the ramp, he should have stopped the truck until the stevedores were clear of him.

Maritime New Zealand had earlier prosecuted the employer, Allied Person-nel, in relation to the same accident for failing to take all practicable steps to en-sure the safety of its employees includ-ing checking appropriate procedures were in place.

In March 2005 the company was fined $5,000, and ordered to pay $12,000 reparation to the seriously injured ste-vedore.

Maritime New Zealand says the sen-tencing sends a clear message to work-ers that they must take proactive steps to ensure everyone in the workplace is safe.http://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/

Kathy Whelan was re-elected Chair of the Seafarers Welfare Board at their AGM recently

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by Joe Fleetwood National Vice President

On Friday 16 September 2005, the Mari-time Union was contacted by the EPMU (Engineers Union) about their dispute with Australian-owned Southward Engi-neering at Lower Hutt.

We were told there were three contain-ers full of exhaust pipes bound for the Melbourne assembly line that had been loaded by scab labour, and blacked by the EPMU.

The boxes had slipped out the back gates carried by truck owner/operators, and the EPMU had tracked the three con-tainers to the Wellington waterfront.

They were due to be loaded on board the P&O Wellington the morning of Satur-day 17 September.

Maritime Union General Secretary Trevor Hanson, Wellington Waterfront Branch Secretary John Whiting and I met with Paul Tolich and Steve Milne of the EPMU mid-Friday, and assured them of our full support.

The main point of the dispute was the workers’ right to their fair share: a 5% wage increase, the new minimum for the trade union movement.

Industrial action had been continuing for six weeks, with no end in sight.

One worker had been with the com-pany for 31 years and was on a $13 per hour pay rate.

Some very bad stuff had happened – as always when workers are suspended from their work sites.

From behind the shelter of containers and buildings, the men who had scabbed threw metal objects at the heads of the bat-tling workers and supporters on the picket line, whilst the workers stood solid and replied “we’re in it for the long haul.”

The employers thought they’d had the workers beaten, by pitting friend against friend – little do they know the meaning of “Touch One, Touch All.”

We contacted Wellington Centreport management and informed them of the

situation, and suggested they should at least put the containers aside until the dispute had been settled.

They told us they would be talking to P&O and seeking legal advice.

Later that afternoon, the Port company told us that P&O had told them to load the containers on board the P&O Wellington on Saturday afternoon, and that if this didn’t happen, they would proceed with legal action.

We told Centreport there would be stopwork meetings on Saturday at 7am and 3pm, to discuss any actions.

Both stopwork meetings gave a unani-mous decision that we would not work blacked cargo, and if they came for one, they came for all.

We were in constant contact with com-rade Rick Newlyn of the Maritime Union of Australia who told us the MUA would be applying the pressure on P&O at the Melbourne end.

As an official, I was very proud of the rank and file of MUNZ and the RMTU, and of the militant and principled stand they took when faced with serious disci-plinary repercussions.

Late on Saturday 17 September we met with Centreport management who told us P&O had instructed them to leave the three containers behind.

Four days later, the EPMU, RMTU and MUNZ met with management to discuss what was happening with these contain-ers.

All parties put their positions, and then adjourned after much discussion.

Whilst we were adjourned, the RMTU organiser informed management, and the EPMU and Maritime Union, that the RMTU were not part of the collective around the table, and left.

This was extremely disappointing.Shortly afterwards, the EPMU con-

vinced Southward management to contact P&O to leave the containers on the wharf, because all parties concerned were back around the negotiating table.

The following morning an agreement was reached, and the EPMU lifted the ban and the containers were trucked to the Port of Auckland.

We agreed it would be in our best interests to wait and see what would become of the meeting with the EPMU and Southward management.

However, on Thursday 22 September the Maritime Union had legal papers served upon us from Southward manage-ment, seeking damages, including interfer-ence and prevention of loading cargo.

The Maritime Union attended a hear-ing at the Employment Court, where the judge repeatedly said the management were in the wrong court, as the Maritime Union are not a party to the EPMU/South-ward Engineering agreement.

He also mentioned it would be expect-ed of the Maritime Union to show unity in these situations.

The judge said there was no case to be heard, and that the employers should go to mediation without putting conditions in place.

An agreement has since been reached: the EPMU put it to the membership, with around 90% agreeing to go back to work.

The 5% fair share campaign was suc-cessful, but not after some very stressful times for the workers and their families.

Long disputes like this are good for the workers to see that they are not alone in their struggle, and that the Maritime Union will stand fast when called upon.

On a personal note, I would like to wish the EPMU all the best in their continual struggle for a living wage and respectful conditions.

Also to the MUNZ and RMTU rank and file who showed unwavering prin-ciples to support fellow workers, and Wel-lington MUNZ secretary John Whiting for solid leadership.

Thanks comrades.We inherit the past, together we build

the future.

Southward Dispute: Vice President Reports

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From left, Allan Poole, Rex Jenkin, and Jimmy Lancaster From left, Graham Wallace, Hamish George, and Brian Blake(with Ken Meade in background)

From left, Murdo Mc Kenzie, Pat Coffey, and Len Stuart Les Bush and Alister Hyde

The Timaru Watersiders Reunion took place on Saturday 19 November 2005 at the Hibernian Hotel.130 former and current watersiders attended the mid afternoon function, which was the first time a gathering had been arranged since the Waterfront Industry Commission ceased in 1989.The eldest attendee was Les Bush aged 89.Photos by Wayne Hanson and Trevor Hanson.

Timaru Waterfront Reunion

Past Presidents and Secretaries of the Timaru Branch of Waterfront Workers Union, now Maritime Union of New Zealand, from left:Front row (Presidents) – Kevin Forde, Trevor Hanson, Lloyd Jenkins, Keith CullenBack row (Secretaries) – Brian O’Driscoll, Graham Wallace, Jimmy McDonald, Gary Kilgour, and Tony Townshend (photo by Wayne Hanson)

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Wellington Picnic Day

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by Kathy Whelan ITF Co-ordinator

On Wednesday 14 September, 10 Indo-nesian fishermen left the fishing vessel ‘Sky 75’ berthed in the Port of Nelson.

They scaled the Port Company security fence and sought out the Police for protection against what they alleged were abuse and inhumane conditions.

Some of the complaints crew had were:• Long working hours• Crew said they were told to stand on deck and shower themselves from waves as they washed over the side• They were fed bad food, with rotten meat and veges and other food stuffs past their use by date• Crew members suffered constant ver-bal abuse and physical abuse• They were provided with no medi-cal treatment, and talked of sustaining injuries which were not attended to and being told to carry on working (the worst instance was a crew member who crushed his arm in some machinery and was told to carry on) working

ITF Co-ordinator Kathy Whelan with crew members of ‘Sky 75’ at Christchurch Airport

The case of the ‘Sky 75’

• Accommodation was extremely poor with 12 to a cabin and no blankets.• No protective clothing or safety boots were supplied despite cold weather, with many crew members working in jandals or bare feet because they had nothing (their contract, bad as it was, provided for the supply of clothing)

Although wages was not their issue, they had received no pay – their contract provides for US$200 per month.

The owner says he has paid their wages to a Jakarta manning agent who is supposed to send it on to their fami-lies, which had not yet happened.

The crew paid their Jakarta manning agency approximately NZ$1000 for their job, and they all joined the vessel on 29 July 2005.

Maritime Union Nelson Branch Secretary Bill Lewis made an inspection of the fishing vessel along with fellow Maritime Union member Tommy Bent-ley and inspectors from the Department of Labour on Friday 16 September.

New Zealand ITF co-ordinator Kathy Whelan was contacted in Wellington

and travelled south to meet the crew at Christchurch Airport on the morning of Sunday 18 September prior to their departure, and interviewed them about conditions onboard their vessel.

Two further Vietnamese crew members had jumped ship the previous night.

The Department of Labour conduct-ed interviews before the crew members were transferred to Christchurch Airport for repatriation to Indonesia.

The Department of Labour and ITF are pursuing the crew’s claims, particu-larly unpaid wages.

Their contract of employment is dreadful, providing for payment of US$200 per month (which they hadn’t received).

This case needed to be viewed in terms of New Zealand legislation on the application of the minimum wage to foreign fishermen in the NZ work place.

Senior Department of Labour offi-cials indicated at the time of the incident they were confident of getting the wages as the operator does business in New Zealand, and needs the co-operation of the Department of Labour.

On that basis we agreed that the crew could leave New Zealand without their wages which will be forwarded to them and not through a manning agent.

8 fishermen remained on the vessel and we were told this is because they borrowed money to pay the Jakarta manning agent their job “fee” and they are fearful of returning home without enough money to repay their loan.

The Department of Labour were ex-tremely good, they were sensitive to the men’s needs and predicament and did a thorough investigation.

Bill Lewis and Tom Bentley were extraordinary, working through the day to 9pm at night in dealing with the fears the men had, negotiating them some meal money and inspecting the vessel.

The Sky 75 is a Korean fishing vessel. It is over 30 years old and was brought to Nelson to have maintenance done on it to ready it for sea (fishing).

It had a crew of 18 Indonesian fisher-men, and its officers are Korean.

Arising from this high profile case the ITF New Zealand and Maritime Union, who both played a leading role in the incident, were invited to a meet-ing with New Zealand Government agencies (Department of Labour and Immigration) on 7 October 2005 where a full and frank discussion took place.

The ITF and Maritime Union strong-ly expressed concerns about lack of legislative protections and accountabil-ity of basic health, safety, welfare and minimum standards.

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During the 1999 ITF Asia/Pacific Week of Action, ITF Coordinator Kathy Whelan did a ship inspection of the ‘Forum Samoa.’

She discovered that the AB was on a monthly consolidated wage of US$280.

She gave the crew an undertaking that she would do everything within her ability to increase the wage rates to those of international minimums.

In 2005, after numerous meetings with Samoan politicians and protracted negotiations with Samoa Shipping Services who manage the vessel and the crew, Kathy Whelan flew to Melbourne

to meet the ship and present to them an agreement reached with Samoa Ship-ping Services.

This agreement increases the wages to ILO minimums (US$870 for an AB) and provides extensive protections in terms of health, welfare and social conditions.

In the absence of a workers’ organi-zation for seafarers in Samoa, the Mari-time Union of New Zealand through Auckland Branch Seafarers Secretary Garry Parsloe will be the guardian of the agreement.

Long wait pays off for ‘Forum Samoa’

This case is indicative of what occurs in the fishing industry – a week after dealing with this case the ITF received a call for help from Chinese fishermen in Pago Pago who had been subjected to the worst kind of abuse imaginable.

Some of their complaints graphically illustrate the appalling employment conditions, abuses and inhumane treat-ments that are rife in the fishing indus-try – see the accompanying article.

At the time of going to print the De-partment of Labour have yet to release their report into the ‘Sky 75’ case.

Horror ship:Abuse aboard the ‘Tunago 61’ by Kathy Whelan ITF Co-ordinator

6 Chinese fishermen aboard the Taiwan registered fishing vessel Tunago 61 berthed in Pago Pago in American Samoa and contacted the ITF New Zealand office reporting incidents of abuse.

Listed below are extracts of the com-plaints they have reported to us:

When one of the fishers asked to be repatriated, he was beaten up by the chief engineer with an iron rod and left to die.

He was bleeding profusely from head injuries and locked up in the bow of the ship without food and water for 3 days.

Fellow crew members sneaked food and water to him.

One engine room worker (aged 20) went up on deck to check if the waste water pump was working and in the process asked a fellow crew member if he knew their estimated time of arrival.

The Chief Engineer came up from the engine room and assumed him to be chatting, grabbed him by the hair and repeatedly punched his head and face until he was bleeding and dizzy.

He was then taken to the chief’s cabin where he kept a thick wooden rod about 3 feet long used to hit him in the stomach and back.

A 19 year old fisher whose job was to bait the hooks, was beaten and worked without a break for 48 hours because some of the bait come off the hook.

A 19 year old who was allocated the job of repairing the fishing tackle was at-tacked with a thick wooden rod for not working fast enough.

Two fishers, aged 28 and 19, report beatings with thick wooden rods for taking what the Captain perceived as a long break.

An 18 year old given the task of lay-ing the lines laid 3 more floating mark-ers than was ordered and for that he was punched repeatedly in the face.

Sporadic beatings were a daily occur-rence and at the whim of the Taiwanese Captain and Chief Engineer who are brothers.

The crew tell us the Captain carries a gun and repeatedly threatens them with death saying that he can easily write

ITF co-ordinator Kathy Whelan with crew members aboard the ‘Forum Samoa’

them off as being lost at sea. When the Captain and Chief get

drunk the beatings get worse. The men eventually jumped ship in

Pago Pago and were sheltered by the Seafarers Centre, who together with the ITF, organized their repatriation and payment of wages and some travelling expenses.

The company Tunago Fisheries have a fairly large fishing fleet operating in the South Pacific and the ITF is currently tracking their vessels.

This is a typical example of the prob-lems the ITF deal with regularly, and as we were dealing with this one, crews of three other fishing vessels arriving in Pago Pago came to us for help.

20

The pillaging of threatened fish stocks, human rights abuse and global crimi-nal fishing operations worth more than a billion dollars are documented in a report sponsored by the Australian Government, the International Trans-port Workers’ Federation (ITF) and WWF, the global conservation organi-zation.

The report, “The Changing Nature of High Seas Fishing: How Flags of Conve-nience provide cover for illegal, unre-ported and unregulated (IUU) fishing” reveals the link between illegal fishing operations in the world’s oceans – and countries that offer cheap registration services, or flags of convenience (FOC), to fishing vessels.

The FOC system provides a perfect cover for IUU fishing, which is esti-mated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to account for 30 per cent of total catches in some important fisher-ies.

In addition to threatening the world’s fisheries, bycatch – the inci-dental capture of non-targeted species – from lawless fishing operations is a serious threat to sea turtles, albatross, sharks and a range of other species, ac-cording to the report.

The 60th United Nations Gen-eral Assembly meeting will consider a sustainable fisheries resolution dealing with IUU fishing and FOCs – this is an opportunity for countries to deal with these issues.

The IUU fishing business is worth around US$1.2 billion, yet it costs only a few hundred dollars to buy a flag of convenience.

Approximately 15 per cent of the world’s large-scale fishing fleet is either flying flags of convenience or the iden-tity of the flag is unknown.

Even the right wing Australian Gov-ernment has joined in denouncing FOC fishing.

Australian Fishing Minister Sena-tor Ian Macdonald says FOC countries and illegal fishermen reap the benefits while undermining international rules

designed to ensure conservation and management of high seas resources.

The report also highlights hu-man rights abuses including forced labour and the abandonment of crews in foreign ports, as well as suspicious incidents such as the recent fire aboard the Simiez in the Uruguyuan port of Montevideo, in which 11 Chinese crew members died.

Belize, Honduras, Panama and St Vincent and the Grenadines top the list of FOC countries with the largest number of large-scale fishing vessels registered to fly their flag.

“We urgently need an end to the cor-rupt system that allows fishing vessels to buy FOCs and operate illegally and without regulation on the high seas,” said Dr. Claude Martin, Director General of WWF International.

“FOC countries, some of them landlocked, register fishing vessels in exchange for a small fee, while often turning a blind eye to illegal activities and exercising little or no control over how these ships operate.”

General Secretary of the ITF, David Cockroft, said that a clear violation of human rights was taking place on IUU vessels.

He said abuse of crews and appall-ing safety standards were exacerbated by the sometimes harsh and dangerous weather conditions faced by fishing vessels.

“Not only is FOC fishing a threat to fisheries and the marine environment, but there is a deadly human cost.”

In many cases IUU vessels operate with an unprotected workforce who can be beaten, starved, and worked with-out pay – all out of sight in one of the world’s most dangerous industries.

The growing pressure on FOC fisher-ies may bring further attention to the problems of FOC shipping in general. To view the report please go tohttp://www.itfglobal.org/files/seealsodocs/1359/iiulowres.pdf

Illegal fishing thrives under flags of convenience

CTU update with CTU President Ross WilsonThe Council of Trade Unions had a busy finish to the year, and there is a lot on the programme for next year also.

The CTU is the national body for workers, which you are affiliated to through MUNZ, and it is your national voice.

Our work focuses on building the union movement, making representa-tion to government and business on the issues that affect us all, and campaign-ing collectively for workers.

We recently had our two-yearly con-ference here in Wellington.

The theme of the conference was Unions 2010 – recapping on the work done to date in rebuilding the union movement and looking ahead to the next five years.

I used my opening speech to confer-ence to re-launch the wages campaign, and to issue a challenge to business that engaging with them over skills, produc-tivity and economic development must also include wages.

Working people want and deserve fair wage increases, and it is the job of the union movement to make sure they get them.

I asked conference to renew their commitment to build and intensify the wages campaign, launched this year as the 5% campaign.

Best wishes for the festive season.

21

Australian leader tells Kiwi Unionists “corporates are out of control”by Garry Parsloe

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Biennial Conference was held in the Mercure Hotel, Wellington, on the 17–19 October 2005.

The opening address was from CTU President Ross Wilson, followed by CTU Secretary Carol Beaumont.

Carol spoke on the need to plan our work in the political arena especially through till the next election, and how the Union Movement must work hard on industry standards, the minimum wage and realistic wage increases for all workers.

After the opening addresses we were given a Women’s Council Presentation.The Conference then heard a short ad-dress from Australian Council of Trade Unions President Sharan Burrow.

Sharan spoke on how critical it was to support workers worldwide, and on the attacks on Australian workers and on how the workers and their Unions will fight back.

Sharan is also President of the ICFTU, the largest international trade union organization.

Following the lunch break, the first speaker was Noriyuki Suzuki, of ICFTU-APRO Singapore.Noriyuki spoke about the global distribution of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) – how much money each country generates.

We then had a Komiti Pasefika pre-sentation.

After smoko we heard a presentation

from the Youth Union Movement.The presentation contained issues of

youth rates, wage rates, ending of dis-crimination against youth workers, and the need to support the Youth Union Movement.

Next up was the main keynote address from ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

Sharan spoke on all the problems that individual contracts, labour hire and casual labour brings on workers and their wage packets.

She explained the attack on workers and Unions in Australia by the right-wing Howard Government.

Sharan stated that Governments that attack workers must be turfed out.

She stated that the corporate world is out of control and there seems no limit to their greed.

The gap between the rich and the poor is also out of control.

Sharan went on to talk about em-ployee involvement within companies, the role of the ILO (International Labour Organization), the role of the WTO (World Trade Organization), industry development and “fair trade” (as op-posed to “free trade.”)

She concluded by addressing the ma-jor issues of world poverty and getting the balance back into workers’ lives.

After Sharan’s presentation there was a report from the winner of the Safeguard Health and Safety Award.

Day one concluded with the Biennial report and the CTU financial statements.

On day two we heard a speech from Prime Minister Helen Clark who thanked the CTU and affiliates for help-ing in the return of a Labour-led Gov-ernment.

She stated that forming a Govern-ment was not straightforward but she was confident that Labour will continue on as a strong and stable Government.

Helen went on to address the mini-mum wage, increases for super, building good working relationships, sharing power in decision making and making the progress of parties working together as smooth as possible.

The next term involves smart poli-cies, strategies for innovation, sustain-able development, and enhancing New Zealand’s reputation.

Helen concluded by stating that there would be continuing dialogue and more successful forums between the CTU and Government.

Also on day two we had a Te Runanga presentation, the election of the Maori Vice President, and further workshops and remits.

Day two concluded with delegates discussing and voting on the Remits from the Remit Committees.

Day three opened with delegates debating the Remits before Conference.

There were lengthy debates around issues of CTU capitation fees, union ed-ucation, minimum wage, a Strike Fund, membership disputes, minimum union fees, Youth Council funding, delegates’ rights and workplace superannuation, along with many other issues contained within the Remits.

The Green Party Spokesperson Sue Bradford addressed the Conference.

Sue thanked the CTU and affiliates for all the work done in assisting the Greens in the election campaign.

Sue then spoke on the formation of the new Government and stated that the six Green MPs in Parliament will continue to work in the best interest of all workers.

Sue went on to say that the Greens will work with all Unions and made a special note of working with the Mari-time Union on our shipping campaign over Coastal Shipping.

After lunch on day three there was a Panel and Plenary, Conference Resolu-tion, Conference Evaluation and Conclu-sions from Ross Wilson.

I believe it was a positive and pro-ductive Conference.

Prime Minister Helen Clark addresses delegates at the CTU Conference

22

Port Roundup:Napier

by Bill Connelly

Around and about

The port is still pretty quiet at the moment, with fruit, squash and various

other seasonal export commodities be-ing completed for another year.

Everyone is now looking forward to Christmas and the New Year for a well earned break.

Ohope Beach accommodation in New Zealand

Members should be aware that the holiday accommodation at Ohope Beach is now at a premium, because we now only have the one unit available for rental.

Vacancies are still available com-mencing each Sunday, on a weekly basis.

Bookings can be made through the Napier Branch, by contacting the Secre-tary either at the Union Office, his home or on his mobile telephone number.

Gold Coast accommodation in Australia

Please note that the confirmation pe-riod for bookings is now SIX MONTHS, which put quite simply means that members nationally can now book six months in advance.The next vacancies are:

11 February 2006 to 25 February 200625 February 2006 to 11 March 2006

Once these vacancies are filled, then there is nothing available until Novem-ber 2006.

Sale of Omniport Napier LimitedOn Wednesday 14 September 2005

Omniport Napier Limited was sold to Southern Cross Stevedores.

All of our members and the admin-istration staff were offered employment with Hawke’s Bay Stevedoring Services Limited, which is a local Company and part of the Southern Cross Group.

The transition has gone reasonably smoothly, with a minor hiccup here and there.

Members who have left the industry

I understand that Bob Staines, a past President of the Branch, has now retired from the industry, after nearly 34 years on the Napier Waterfront.

Robert Frederick Staines joined the Napier Branch 05 January 1972 and left without too much hooray, sometime early this year.

Bob kept his leaving very much to himself and that’s the way he is, but I might add he always had time for any member that he called a friend and this was self evident by the way in which he was respected by his fellow workmates, for all those years.

The Officers, Executive and members of the Napier Branch wish Bob well in his future endeavours and a long and happy retirement.

Annual General MeetingThis was held on Monday 17 October

2005. The Fund Director was in attendance

and gave the members an informative and constructive talk on the Waterfront Industry Superannuation Fund, its ob-jectives and aspirations for the future.

Thank you Susan.Also in attendance at the meeting

was Russell Fairbrother, the former Member of Parliament for Napier, who is now a List MP.

He thanked the Branch for their as-sistance during the General Election and although disappointed with his personal result was pleased that he would be part of a Labour-Led Government for the next three years.

“Our Union at Work”On Tuesday 8 November 2005 Na-

pier welcomed Fred Salelea to Hawke’s Bay to conduct a one day seminar en-titled “Our Union at Work.”

Five members from Napier attended, including me.

We were due to be joined by other members from Gisborne, but unfortu-nately due to work commitments they were unable to attend.

Our thanks are extended to Fred from the Branch for a well run and en-lightening seminar.

With Christmas approaching it is time to wish all the members, both lo-cally and nationally, the compliments of the season and all the best for 2006.

Have a good one everybody.

Two container vessels at the Port of Napier, 16 August 2005 (photo by Bill Connelly)

23

Port Roundup:Wellington Waterfront

by John Whiting

New WorkSome positive

news for our mem-bers employed by Capital City Steve-dores has come with

the first call of ‘ANL Yarrunga’ joining the Trans-Tasman container service.

Unfortunately, though it had come straight from the builders’ yards, this ship was deficient in respect of our members’ safety in the areas of gangway construction – no safety lines around open hatchways, and many unprotected openings in the grating-covered work areas.

These deficiencies have been raised with the ship’s owners and the MSA and we anticipate remedial action as this ship is expected to be a regular caller.

The Capital City workforce also achieved a successful outcome to a dispute regarding the heavy lift ship ‘Pangani’ – due to load locomotives in Wellington.

The employer’s intention was to use crew to drive the ship’s cranes and fol-lowing negotiations our top hands were added to the allocated labour.

Cold Stores SettlementThe collective agreement covering

our members employed by Wellington Port Cold Stores has been renewed for a two year term.

Our negotiating team included young delegates Baz Tapuai and Wess Metungaro and also had the able in-volvement of National Vice President Joe Fleetwood.

Gains made include a reasonable wage increase for the first and second years, the introduction of a subsidised superannuation scheme, and an innova-tive increase in sick leave incorporating employer paid doctors’ visits for all immediate family and access to a paid smoking cessation programme and an-nual influenza vaccinations.

Support for Southwards WorkersThe Friday of the weekend of the

General Election saw a request made for our support that tested the mettle of our members, employed by the Wellington Port Company CentrePort.

The call came from EPMU (Engineers Union) members employed by local engineering works Southward Engineer-ing, a previously locally owned business recently taken over by absentee Austra-lian owners.

These mainly low paid workers were involved in a long term dispute and strike over wages, complicated by scab labour working in the plant.

Three containers containing rene-gade-produced cargo had been brought to the waterfront and we were requested not to load them.

Two stopwork meetings of MUNZ and RMTU members took unanimous decisions not to work these boxes in support of the beleaguered Southwards workers.

This policy was upheld as we worked two ships without handling the offending containers.

Intensive negotiations involving our local and national officials and delegates from the EPMU with the Port Company management eventually resulted in an outcome that saw the ban lifted on the Tuesday morning and the boxes re-moved by road.

Subsequent negotiations between the EPMU and Southwards have resolved the pay dispute with a 5% settlement achieved.

Our members and those of the RMTU deserve congratulations for their principled stand in support of fellow workers in struggle.

Members’ PicnicFollowing a local delegate training

course, MUNZ trainer Fred Salelea chal-lenged the course participants to devise, plan and carry out a task from within their own group.

The outcome was a welcome, well organised and run barbeque picnic held at Days Bay on 9 October 2005.

Many members and their families en-joyed a great day which included games and events for the children.

Our thanks to the Waterfront and Seafarers delegates who put in the work to make the day a great success and we look forward to other such events in the future.

Wellington Waterfront Branch ex-tends seasons greetings to all members of MUNZ and looks forward to further positive progress for our Union in 2006.

Maritime Union members at the Wellington Port Coldstores

24

Port Roundup:Lyttelton Local 43

by Les Wells

Lyttelton at the moment has two outstanding con-tract negotiations in progress.

With Lyttelton Stevedore Services

we have started our preliminary talks, and with Pacifica we have had three days but have indicated that we need to continue with this.

As for the bird flu I believe we have one of the better procedures put in place by the Lyttelton Port Company to cover ships entering the port, which we hope will give our members as much protec-tion as it can.

The one concern I have is the coming and going of the foreign fish vessels – you never know what they could bring in. (Trevor has suggested we shoot all migrating birds.)

At the moment the Union in conjunc-tion with the RMTU and the Foremen’s Union are in the process of trying to get the Lyttelton Port Company to pay a bonus to their hard working employees which is richly deserved.

I look forward to the Lyttelton entries for the Interport Sports bringing home the bacon.

I understand we are not sending any fishermen up this year, so others have a change of winning something.

I would also like to wish all our members throughout the country a very merry Xmas and a prosperous New

Port Roundup:Mt Maunganui Tauranga

by Phil Spanswick

On Monday 31 October the Iron Monarch arrived in port, from Port Kembla.

The Iron Mon-arch was com-

missioned in 1973 and is a specialised steel slab carrier owned by BHP Billiton (Bluescope), due back later this month.

The crew were invited to the Mel-bourne Cup Party at the Seafarers Cen-tre and a good time was had by all.

We attended the Port of Tauranga AGM to witness the changing of the guard from John Mayson to Mark Cairns who is the new Port of Tauranga C.E.O.

We are in the process of finalizing the Tauranga Stevedoring Collective Agree-ment.

We are in the process of settling up the P&O Ports Collective Agreement and are planning a ratification meeting in the week of the 14 November.

We had a successful reunion on 30 September at the Mt Maunganui Cosmo-politan Club.

Fred Salalea ran a delegates’ training day on 30 September which was enjoyed by all participants.

Interport Mount Maunganui 2006Please be advised that the confirmed date of the Interport Sports is 12 Febru-ary to 16 February 2006.

Merv Hill and his team have fi-nalised arrangements for what will be a successful Interport Sports.

We have had an excellent response for entries, particularly for the golf and fishing, with many members and their wives attending.

Iron Monarch at Mount Maunganui (photo by Phil Spanswick)

Port Roundup:Gisborne Local 10

by Dein Ferris

It only seems the other day I was scribing some-thing for the magazine.

The port, lead-ing up to and since the elections has been very quiet, with just the regular shipment of product from the Juken Nis-sho mill going out.

There has also been the odd log ship (which our company does not handle) keeping the port going.

At the time of writing Gisborne is as-sessing the effects of the Labour Week-end storm which hit the area.

It appears that the early squash plantings have been affected in some areas, and this will have an effect on shipments in the new year.

Hopefully most areas can be replant-ed to at least cut some of the losses.

The local paper the Gisborne Herald reported that the floods had caused $10 million damage.

The Minister of Agriculture Jim Anderton has visited the area and there is the possibility of Government assis-tance to help with the cost of recovery, but at the time of writing nothing has been decided. Nature is a funny thing – it rained solidly for two days but prior to and afterwards the weather has been brilliant.

Although we have had little work, which means little to report, our safety committee and management have had meetings to keep each group up to date.

Discussions have already started about Christmas functions, so with this in mind we wish you all a really happy one and a wonderful new year.

Ka Kite Ano.

25

Port Roundup:Auckland Local 13

by Russell Mayn

This year has seen Local 13 and the Auckland Seafarers form a closer work-ing relationship with the Seafarers moving into Water-

front Union House.This positive move has seen both

branches sharing their resources, from stopwork meetings to their involvement in the Local Affiliates Council of the CTU.

The Benefits were seen in the run up to the elections this year where a combined stopwork meeting was held with guest speakers from the Labour Party and Green Party addressing the meeting.

Support for Australian workersOn 15 November, seafarers and

waterfront workers will be protest-ing outside the Australian Embassy in Auckland.

This protest is aimed at the Howard Government and their drive to remove traditional protection for Australian Unions and workers.

This attack on workplace legisla-tion in reminiscent of the Employment Contracts Act.

We all remember the destruction and hardship forced upon New Zealand workers and their families under the ECA, and if the Howard Government is left unchallenged our comrades in Australia will suffer under the same anti-worker legislation that ripped our country apart.

This type of legislation failed in New Zealand, but it seems that employers and right wing supporters in Australia are hell bent on forcing industrial reform upon Australia.

The Maritime Union of New Zealand must support the Australian Unions in their fight to maintain collective bar-gaining along with a decent standard of living for workers and their families.

Negotiations with Ports of Auckland

Most of the year has been spent negotiating Collective Employment Agreements for the Port of Auckland and dealing with the day to day issues in the workplace and within the Union.

The year has seen many new initia-tives take place at Auckland and one of the positives is the formation of the Northern Maritime Union Regional Meetings.

These meetings bring together seafarers and waterfront workers from Tauranga, Auckland and Whangarei to formulate strategies to improve the conditions for all Union members in the Maritime Industry.

This regional co-operation will play a decisive part in the long term devel-opment of the Maritime Union of New Zealand.

Local 13 believes that Union involve-ment does not end at the workplace and is actively involved in promoting sport-ing and social gatherings.

The membership needs to be con-gratulated for the variety of social events held throughout the year.

Regular socials at the Maritime Club, Touch Rugby, Golf, Bowls and the Chil-dren’s Picnic Day are but a few.

On Saturday I attended the inaugural “Tuff Man Competition” for Local 13.

This was a night to remember; over

two hundred members and wives and families attended a night of boxing.

Seafarers and waterfront workers cheered on the contestants who were all working members of the Union.

It must be noted that the fighting spirit displayed on the night will serve the Union well for the future.

Congratulations to Carl , Ziggy, Merita and Grant for organising this night.

Thanks also to the Auckland Boxing Association for the use of their facilities and for the referees and other essentials.

Christmas FunctionThe Union Christmas function

will be held in December at the Mari-time Club, the date will be announced shortly.

Sponsorship has been squeezed out of the executive so a top night should be held by all – “see you there.’

Interport 2006The Interport Sports Tournament

will be held at Tauranga in February 2006.

This tournament is a must on the social and sporting calendar.

The organising that goes into staging this tournament for Golf and Fishing is no small feat and Local 13 extends its thanks to the Tauranga Branch and especially Merv for all the work done to make this event happen.

There will be no indoor sports due to a lack of entries but hopefully this will rectify itself next year.

My prediction is a clean sweep for Auckland in the Fishing and the Golf.

The officials and the executive of Local 13 would like to take this op-portunity in wishing all members of the Maritime Union of New Zealand a Merry Christmas and a safe and pros-perous New Year.

“An Injury to one is an Injury to All.”

From left, Michael Charteris, Alister Ferguson, and Peter Cooke,at the recent Timaru Waterfront Reunion

From left, Peter Washington, Jimmy McDonald, Bruce Warlow, and Peter Wilson, at the recent Timaru Waterfront Reunion

26

Port Roundup:Bluff

by Ray Fife

Another year has nearly passed, but we have seen no real growth in the port in terms of new markets open-ing up to service

the region.

SouthportSouthport has been actively pursu-

ing a shipping line to offer a service to Southland exporters that will operate between Australia and New Zealand. Southport say they are optimistic the service will eventuate, but it will be very difficult to persuade a shipping line to add an extra schedule to the already tight schedules they operate under.2005 negotiations.

Southland Stevedoring ServicesThe Southland Stevedoring Services

new agreement was finally settled in late October.

Negotiations were held over a num-ber of weeks and we were able to obtain a percentage increase for the permanents and casuals.

Our next issue to tackle is to increase the number of permanents and discus-sions will be held with management to go over the options.

CTU ConferenceI was fortunate in being able to at-

tend the NZCTU Biennial Conference in Wellington on the 17–19 October.

The three day conference covered a multitude of subjects.

There were a number of presenta-tions from groups such as the Womens’ Council, Komiti Pasefika, Youth Union Movement, Runanga, Out@Work and the Hangi Project.

The Conference was split into workshops during the second day and I attended the Hangi project workshop.

This project is to increase the num-ber of Nga Kaimahi Maori who engage in workplace learning, it is to provide workplace productivity, awareness, education and training.

The outcome is to build strategic partnerships and develop a collabora-tive approach with employers, industry and iwi to increase Maori workplace productivity.

Sharan Burrow of the Australian CTU spoke on the situation Australian workers are facing with legislation being put forward that will put them in the

same situation that we faced when the National Government introduced the Employment Contracts Act in 1991.

The Australian Unions are gearing up for a long battle as they realize that their existence is under threat if they do nothing.

Prime Minister Helen Clark got a rousing reception when she arrived at the Conference.

Helen thanked the Unions for their support in helping the Labour Party get a third term.

Helen said that this term their aim is for higher growth, sustainable develop-ment, New Zealand identity, to focus on greater productivity and to have a high skill, high wage workforce.

The NZCTU Conference ended with their vision for the future.

Their vision is to increase the level of union membership amongst work-ers (union density), particularly in the private sector, develop the role of unions as the representative voice of working people, continue to campaign to lift wages and promote skill development and productivity that will fit in with higher wages.

Past Members FunctionOur annual function was held on 3

November.There was an excellent turnout with

those attending saying that they thor-oughly enjoyed themselves.

It was reported that this one event is the only time some get to meet their old work mates, be able to reminisce on the good old days, and to joke and laugh about some of the antics they got up to while working on the wharf.

Branch ElectionsThe 2005 branch elections were held

and all positions filled.Wayne Finnerty is the President, Ray Fife is the Secre-tary/Treasurer, and the Executive is Ross Tangney, Harry Holland and Gil Holland.

We would like to express our thanks to Peter Waddel who decided it was time to stand aside and not seek re-election.

Peter made significant contributions to our Union and we thank him for his time and effort while on the executive.

RetirementJoe Repia a long serving member

finally decided to “call it a day” and retired late August.

Joe is a keen bowler, we know that he is now able to pursue his interest, without giving any thought to work re-quirements and we wish Joe a long and happy retirement.

Finally on behalf of our Branch I would like to wish everyone a very

Port Roundup:Port ChalmersLocal 10

as Shanghai Sam, although still in the racing game (feed-ing greyhounds), failed to live up to its reputation.

Sports TourneyWe have a large contingent heading

to the Mount next year, and although disappointed that indoor sports (pool, indoor bowls and darts) have been dropped due to lack of interest, there has still been a lot of interest in golf and fishing.

Queenstown Holiday UnitThe holiday unit continues to be

popular with the maintainance gang back from a week of work at the unit.

The value of the unit continues to rise. If anyone from around New Zea-land is interested in renting it, contact Ian Quarrell on 03 4727216 or Phil Ad-ams on 03 4728 052.

NegotiationsThe Southern Cross and Port Otago

collective agreements have both been completed with the two sticking points having a successful conclusion.

The RDO to thirds, starting a third shift at 11pm on the day you have off, has seen the reintroduction of the pay-back day should someone have to work at 11pm when observing a day off.

Also the tug relief position was sorted out.

Executive and meetingsThis year’s executive continues to

impress. All the new executive members are

graduates of Fred’s training programme.It is good to see the interest they

show and as officials we are getting them involved in the meetings with management.

Our executive now meet every month and we have a full meeting every two months which always has a good attendance and lively debate which can only be good for the branch.

RetirementDecember will see the retirement of

Gary Tappin, who joined the early retire-ment programme two years ago.

[continued on next page]

27

by Phil Adams

Hello and merry Christmas from the sunny south.

Things are starting to pick up here, in particular in the terminal where moves on vessels are climbing as the season gets into full swing.

Third shifts are becoming a regular although we have had a breakthrough in combatting a day off then starting at 2300 on the same day.

We have got back the pay back day for anyone inconvenienced by this.

Two new straddles are arriving this week to complement our other straddles in the fleet and we are to get a new crane early next year with rumours of maybe another crane soon after.

Our officials are currently working with the management to look at labour and working arrangements although a lot will hinge on the Maersk takeover of P&O, and what ports in New Zealand they will utilize.

The Southern Cross locals have been relatively busy with logs, phosphate and fish.

We are currently discussing more permanent positions with them as the workforce here is quite small.

The “B’s” in the terminal who are on a three day guarantee have been finding it tough during the offseason.

The Union has negotiated that the B’s will go onto a five day guarantee from 1 January 2006 until 31 May 2006, and the port company will look at upgrading some of the B’s to cadets depending on the Maersk takeover of P&O and which ports they will use.

One sad aspect of the whole B situ-ation is the persistence of some to meet with management to give their concerns about the situation rather than leave any discussion or negotiation to the Union,

which is why we have a solid collective approach rather than individualism.

R BakxIt is interesting to see our former

Chief Executive who went to Lyttelton Port Company is now CEO of Christ-church Airport.

We wonder if he was driven out by Les Wells.

Drug and alcoholOur branch and many others around

the country are being put under consid-erable pressure by employers who want to introduce random drug tests.

Our branch have steadfastly held to our national Union position of no ran-dom testing, but feel the situation must be looked at as an accident involving someone under the influence of a drug causing injury or death could see the of-ficials of the branch held liable.

Our branch has had problems with members taking drugs before, and we ask any that may have a problem to let an official know so we can address the problem.

Union shout and retired membersThe annual retired members and

Union shout will be held in the WIC bureau at 4pm, 16 December 2005.

It is a great time for current and retired members to come together, have a social drink and talk about days gone by as well as the latest news.

The new members are reminded of the great sacrifices the older now retired members went through to establish the wages and conditions they have today.

Garth LoveIt is with sadness that our branch

records the loss of B register member Garth Love who recently died of natural

causes in Dunedin Hospital in his 40s.Garth was a hardworking popular

member of the branch and although bat-tling personal problems throughout his time with us, always remained positive that his future lay with us and eventu-ally everything would come right.

Our deepest condolences to his fam-ily and friends in the workplace.

We also note the loss of two former members in recent months, Arnold Al-lum and Ivan Ballantyne.

AmalgamationIt appears the amalgamation with the

RMTU will be resurrected. Hopefully this time we will get some

of our proposals agreed upon as this seemed to be a problem last time.

We believe MUA Secretary Paddy Crumlin will be involved which should be good given the successful amalgama-tion of Australian seafarers and wharfies in the MUA.

However we still believe the full amalgamation process between New Zealand wharfies and seafarers needs to be more solid, instead of the situation in some ports of seafarer branches and wharfie branches.

We are now all maritime workers in one Union.

Our horseOhoka Jasper has changed its gait to

trotting with some success I may add. Two starts at the trotting game for a

win and a second with more in store. As usual the General Secretary and

Kathy Whelan missed the win, which paid out $13.

We are also looking at another horse with Davy Dick and Dick Markham

From left, Allen Parke, Bruce Bishop, Archie Andrews, and Ron Cooper,at the recent Timaru Waterfront Reunion

From left, Brian O’Driscoll, Peter Groot, and Trevor Hanson,at the recent Timaru Waterfront Reunion

28

Port Roundup:Auckland Seafarers

by Garry Parsloe

Joint Local 13 and Auckland

Seafarers MeetingThe first Joint Lo-

cal 13 and Auckland Seafarers Branch

Stop Work Meeting took place on 12 September 2005.

The main purpose of this Joint Meet-ing was to hear presentations from local Labour and Green election candidates.

The first speaker was Keith Locke from the Green Party.

He spoke on how important it was to have the Green Party in Parliament under a Labour led Government, as the Green’s Industrial Relations Policies were the only Party Policies that were in line with Labour policies and were in the best interest of all New Zealand workers.

The next speaker was Lyn Pillay of the Labour Party.

Lynn spoke on how important the Party vote was and how important it was for workers to re-elect a Labour led Government as the alternative would be a disaster for workers.

Both Keith Locke and Lynn Pillay answered questions from the member-ship and were then thanked for their presentations before being presented with donations to assist them in their campaigns.

March for Tongan WorkersOn 3 September 2005 workers from

all over Auckland gathered at the bot-tom of Queen Street in support of the Tongan workers strike.

Whilst good progress in negotiations had been made with an interim pay increase being offered, negotiations were still going on to get the pay increase made permanent.

To make matters worse Ministers of Parliament in Tonga had just been awarded pay increases which averaged 57%.

Strike leader Fotu Fisi’ahi arrived from Tonga to lead the march and speak at the rally.

The march had a lot of coverage in the Pacific Media and there was a strong emphasis on the New Zealand Trade Union support for it.

The march itself was well attended and well disciplined as was the rally and speakers that followed.

It was good to see so many workers turn out in Auckland to support their comrades struggle in Tonga.

Council of Trade UnionsIn the month leading up the General

Elections the Auckland CTU/Local Af-filiates Council Meeting Agenda was for the return of a Labour-led Government.

We planned our strategy around where best to distribute the CTU pam-phlets, what days and times we would get the best exposure, and have access to workers and the public at large.

We leafleted early in the morning in downtown Auckland City and during the day in the suburbs.

By inviting politicians to our Stop Work Meeting we were able to give our Union Membership direct access to candidates.

All in all we believe we did all pos-sible to assist in the return of a Labour-led Government.

[continued from previous page]We thank Gary for his contribution

and support of the Union over many years.

Gary has gained a few nicknames over the years but they cannot be stated in this magazine.

We also record the retirement of Gordon Lister after over 40 years in the waterfront industry.

Gordon is experiencing some health problems and the branch wishes him a good recovery.

Australian industrial situationWe as a branch have been watching

developments in Australia with interest as the Howard Government attempts to put through their law changes – we in New Zealand have the feeling we have been through all this before.

We offer our support to the Austra-lian workers at this time and will do what we can to assist their cause.

ElectionThe election is over and although

the result is not as good as it could have been, it is better than the other prospect.

Let us hope that trade union con-cerns will continue to be listened to.

We must not forget our local member Victor Billot who polled the highest for any Alliance candidate in New Zealand (we think this may be because he has a large family).

Victor was prominent during the election campaign so his time may come.

New HouseThe Secretary of the Branch has

recently moved into his new house and two members have been putting retain-ing walls up.

The other day they were digging holes for the posts when one realized he had left his underpants at home, so instead of returning to get a new pair he took a pair off the secretary’s clothesline and put them on.

I have since told him to keep them as payment, the person involved has a healthy appetite and it should be easy to work out who he is.

As this is the final Maritimes for 2005, on behalf of the Port Chalmers branch, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

2006 will be an important year to consolidate our position as the strongest Union in New Zealand, a Union that is prepared to fight for what we believe is right.

The Maritime Union now has strong representation at the Auckland LAC (local affiliates council) of the CTU, with Auckland Seafarers Secretary Garry Parsloe serving as CTU President and Auckland Local 13 Secretary Russell Mayn serving as CTU Secretary

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Regional Contacts

WhangareiMobile: 021 855121Fax: 09 459 4972Address: PO Box 397, Whangarei Auckland SeafarersPhone: 09 3032 562 Fax: 09 3790 766Mobile: 021 326261 Address: PO Box 1840, AucklandEmail: garry.parsloe@munz.org.nz

Auckland Local 13Phone: 09 3034 652 Fax: 09 3096 851Mobile: 021 760887Address: PO Box 2645, AucklandEmail: local13@munz.org.nz

Mount MaunganuiPhone: 07 5755 668 Fax: 07 5759 043Mobile: 0274 782308Address: PO Box 5121, Mt. MaunganuiEmail: phil.spanswick@munz.org.nz

Gisborne Local 38 Mobile: 025 6499697Address: 5 Murphy Road,GisborneEmail: dein.ferris@munz.org.nz

New PlymouthPhone: 06 7589 728 Fax: 06 7513 646Mobile: 027 2755458Address: PO Box 659, New PlymouthEmail: shane.parker@munz.org.nz

NapierPhone/Fax: 06 8358 622Mobile: 025 2174289Address: PO Box 70, NapierEmail: bill.connelly@munz.org.nz

Wellington SeafarersPhone: 04 3859 288 Fax: 04 3848 766Mobile: 021 481242Address: PO Box 27004, WellingtonEmail: mike.williams@muno.org.nz

Wellington WaterfrontPhone: 04 8017 619 Fax: 04 3848 766Mobile: 021 606379Address: PO Box 2773, WellingtonEmail: john.whiting@muno.org.nz

Wellington Stores and Warehouse Local 21Phone: 04 3859520 Fax: 04 3848 766Address: PO Box 27004, Wellington

NelsonPhone/Fax: 03 548 7778Address: PO Box 5016, Nelson

Lyttelton Local 43Phone: 03 3288 306 Fax: 03 3288 798Mobile: 0274 329620Address: PO Box 29, LytteltonEmail: lwwu@xtra.co.nz TimaruPhone/Fax: 03 6843 364Mobile: 021 2991091Address: PO Box 813, Timaru Port Chalmers Dunedin Local 10Phone: 03 4728 052 Fax: 03 4727 492Mobile: 0274 377601Address: PO Box 44, Port ChalmersEmail: phil.adams@munz.org.nz

BluffPhone/Fax: 03 2128 189Mobile: 027 4475317Address: PO Box 5, BluffEmail: ray.fife@munz.org.nz

Ports of Convenience fails second hurdleThe European Parliament’s transport committee has scrapped a controversial bid to create ports of convenience in Europe – for now.

The decision follows a protracted campaign by the International Transport Workers’ Federation and its affiliates.

The legislation has been the centre to a long and bitter battle between the Commission, waterside workers’ trade unions and port operators.

ITF affiliates had similar proposals thrown out two years ago, when they persuaded the European parliament to reject them both by lobbying and mass protests in European ports.

EU’s transport commissioner Jacques Barrot told the London Financial Times the result of yesterday’s committee vote was “to create more suspense’’, not least because the close result (24 votes against and 23 in favour) meant it was unclear how the full Strasbourg assembly would vote on the issue in January.

Unions oppose the directive because it would allow ship crews to handle cargo themselves.Article courtesy of MUA News http://mua.org.au/news/

Obituary: Rod Donald1957–2005The Maritime Union of New Zealand has paid its respects to Green Party co-leader Rod Donald who died on 6 November 2005 at his home in Banks Peninsula.

Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says he has offered the condolences of mari-time workers to Mr Donald’s family and his political family, the Green Party.

“Rod Donald provided strong lead-ership in public life and shared many goals of the Maritime Union, including economic justice for working people, fair trade not free trade, and the protection of the environment for future genera-tions.”

Mr Hanson says the Maritime Union will do our best to honour his memory by continuing the struggle for the goals and principles he advocated.

LettersComrades, its been brought to our at-tention that members of MUNZ from the goverment research vessel ‘Tanga-roa’ have been double-dipping.

By this we mean not taken paid leave.

While seafarers around NZ are facing long term unemployment there is also people with plenty of untaken leave.

One person spoken to has 169 days up his sleeve, we are sure he is not the only one.

It is the belief of this branch some crew on the cargo ship Purbeck are do-ing callbacks. We in the Nelson branch would like to see double-dipping and callbacks stopped immediately.

These practises are not good for the morale of the unions unemployed.

People in fulltime employment should try to take leave when possible to help their fellow union members.

Rule 53 of the old Seamans rulebook should be brought back into force with fines for non-attendance of monthly meetings.

D MurrayVice-President, Nelson Branch

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